Peanut butter and chocolate lovers rejoice! I’ve combined at least 3 delicious cookies into 1 mouthwatering recipe with my big fat peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Consider yourself warned: these cookies are exploding with flavor, unapologetically thick, and hopelessly irresistible. They’re guaranteed to satisfy almost every cookie craving.
A cookie to end all cookies, these big fat peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are a mouthful. I was inspired to try these decadent treats after seeing the cover of my cookbook, Sally’s Cookie Addiction, for the first time. The glorious monster cookies gracing the book cover are loaded with M&Ms and can be found in Chapter 2 and have recently been added to my website.
This recipe, however, skips those rainbow candies and focuses instead on a flavor relationship like no other. Chocolate chips and peanut butter. It’s a match made in cookie heaven! In this recipe, we’re combining that perfect pairing with textured oats to achieve the thickest, richest, and most satisfying cookie.
Tell Me About These Big Fat Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Texture: Loaded with so many delicious add-ins, these cookies have chewy edges, soft centers, and are unbelievably thick. (I’m always shocked by how thick they turn out.) If you want to go even bigger and thicker, try these big fat dark chocolate cranberry oatmeal cookies next!
- Flavor: Ordinary chocolate chip cookies are buttery sweet on their own, but the peanut butter-chocolate pairing here brings a delicious decadence to these cookies. If this flavor pairing is a favorite, be sure to add these peanut butter chocolate cookies to your list, too.
- Ease: Simple to make, the dough comes together in just minutes using a few staple pantry add-ins like old-fashioned oats and peanut butter. Make them for same-day snacking or prepare them ahead of a special occasion (see Note).
- Time: This dough can be prepped and chilled in under an hour. 20 minutes in the refrigerator (the same amount of time we chill dough for brownie cookies) helps the oats soak up some moisture and prevents the cookie from overspreading.
If you love these cookies but don’t have oats, try these peanut butter chocolate chip cookies instead. If you love these cookies but need a gluten free dessert recipe, try these flourless peanut butter oatmeal cookies or flourless monster cookies instead. We’ve got all the bases covered!
One reader, Dyna, says: “Hands down the BEST cookie recipe I have ever made, and I’ve made a lot of cookies… All the extra notes and suggestions too were spot on. Following those tips made for a beautiful, delectable cookie!”
Recipe Testing: What Works & What Doesn’t
- The weight of peanut butter. This cookie dough is adapted from my oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. The addition of peanut butter here, however, can weigh down the dough. To counter this, I add baking powder for lift.
- A spreading solution. When testing the recipe, I found the cookies weren’t spreading enough. I decided to swap the quantities of granulated sugar and brown sugar. Granulated sugar—dry and thin—helps increase cookie spread. Brown sugar—moist and thick—keeps cookies compact. Increasing the granulated sugar makes all the difference in this dough for the perfect spread. You won’t even miss that extra brown sugar flavor because the peanut butter is our front-runner.
- Fewer oats + more chocolate. When testing, I originally had a higher quantity of oats in the cookies. I decided to reduce that amount to make room for more chocolate chips. Can you blame me?
Choosing the Right Ingredients:
Peanut butter. Though natural-style peanut butter is my #1 choice for eating and snacking, I recommend using non-natural peanut butter for this particular cookie recipe. Natural peanut butter can be used in my regular peanut butter cookies (though the cookies are a little crumblier than intended), but it’s not ideal for today’s recipe. Instead, use Jif or Skippy. You can use creamy or crunchy, but I prefer creamy peanut butter as crunchy can make the cookies taste a little dry. You need 1 cup of peanut butter for this recipe.
Room-temperature butter. Like my basic soft chocolate chip cookies, the base of today’s oatmeal cookie recipe is creamed room-temperature butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar. You can’t cream butter and sugar together if the butter is too warm or too cold. (It usually spells disaster for your cookies!) Room temperature butter is about 65°F (18°C). It’s cool and slightly firm to touch, not warm or slippery. I recommend placing your butter on the counter for 1 hour prior to beginning the recipe to achieve ideal “room temperature” butter. If you don’t have an hour, here is my trick to soften butter quickly. You need 1 cup of butter for this cookie dough.
Whole oats: To ensure the cookies spread nicely and do not dry out, be sure to use whole oats and not quick oats. Quick oats are cut finer, and will soak up more moisture in the dough.
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
After you prepare the peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies dough, chill it for 20 minutes in the refrigerator. After chilling, it’s time to scoop the dough and bake the cookies. Each cookie uses 2 Tablespoons of dough which is about the same size as these regular chocolate chip cookies. Arrange the cookie dough balls 3 inches apart on your baking sheet. These cookies are large, so I use a medium cookie scoop and overflow it with dough (since the medium only holds 1.5 Tablespoons.)
More Quick Cookie Recipes
- Peanut Butter Cookie Sandwiches
- Mini M&M Cookies
- Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Giant Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Brownie Cookies
- Shortbread Cookies
Big Fat Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
- Yield: 32 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Big fat peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are easy, thick, and exploding with peanut butter, oats, and chocolate chips to satisfy your cookie cravings.
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 cups (188g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (16 Tbsp; 226g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 cup (240g) creamy peanut butter
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups (170g) old-fashioned whole rolled oats
- 2 and 1/2 cups (450g) semi-sweet chocolate chips, plus more for topping if desired
Instructions
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the granulated sugar and brown sugar and beat on medium-high speed until creamed, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, peanut butter, and vanilla and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low until combined. With the mixer running on low speed, add the oats. Once combined, beat in the chocolate chips. Dough will be thick and sticky. Cover and chill the dough for at least 20 minutes in the refrigerator (and up to 4 days). If chilling for longer than 1 hour, allow to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before rolling and baking because the dough will be quite hard.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Scoop balls of dough, 2 Tablespoons of dough per cookie, and arrange 3 inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake for 12-14 minutes until lightly browned on the sides. The centers will look very soft.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. While the cookies are still warm, I like to press a few more chocolate chips into the tops—this is only for looks!
- Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Allow to come to room temperature then continue with step 4. Baked cookies freeze well for up to 3 months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well for up to 3 months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw. Read my tips and tricks on how to freeze cookie dough.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Medium Cookie Scoop | Cooling Rack
- Peanut Butter: Use a non-natural peanut butter like Jif creamy or Skippy creamy. I do not suggest using natural style or oily peanut butter as both produce crumbly, fragile, and sandy tasting cookies. (Try this recipe for flourless peanut butter oatmeal cookies if you want to use natural!) Crunchy peanut butter is OK, but I find the cookies taste a little dry with it.
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Holy sh*tballs these are incredible!!!! Packing some fresh right now to take to grieving friends
What kind of peanut butter? I normally buy all natural peanut butter (no sugar.) Do I need to use “regular” PB for these? Looking forward to these ones!
Hi Cait! See recipe Notes (after the recipe) for details on what kind of peanut butter to use.
Can I use oil instead of butter?
Hi Kylie, we don’t recommend swapping oil for butter here. If needed, you could try using coconut oil, which, like butter, is solid when cold and liquid when melted. The flavor will be different, however.
Making these cookies tomorrow for an event. I have pecans I’d like to add to the recipe. How much should I include? 1/2 cup or 1 cup chopped pieces. I’ll post the results.
Hi Paula, you try replacing some of the chocolate chips with pecans, keeping the total amount of add-ins to 2.5 cups. Hope they’re a hit!
This has become our family’s favorite cookie!
These cookies are some of the best I’ve ever made. Simple and packed full of flavor. We let ours go about 16 minutes at 350 and had the best crunch. Also used quick oats for the crispy texture. Mexican vanilla was a must as well. Will definitely make again.
THIS IS HANDS DOWN THE BEST COOKIE RECIPE EVER !!! OMG !! I have tried so many recipes and there is no way anything can beat this !!! It is better than anything I’ve tried in any bakery or anywhere!! Anytime someone new tries these cookies they ask me for the recipe and hound me to make them whenever I can lol Sometimes I wish I never came across this though because I cannot stop baking and eating them !!! Also Sallys tips wow soooo helpful and make a huge difference so pay attention to her comments and suggestions!!! Also anyone that hasn’t made the recipe to a T cannot comment poorly because if you make it exactly the way it is written there is no way you should be disappointed. Thank you Sally you are always my go to gurl for dessert recipes, I’m never disappointed!!!
Hi—If I am making these with mini chocolate chips do I need to change anything? Or just sub the regular amount? 2 1/2 cups sounds like a lot—or what would the amounts be if I wanted to do half and half? 1 3/4 reg and 3/4 mini? Also would I have to change the cooking time if I wanted to make smaller cookies? These will be in boxes for gifts so I wanted them to go a little further. Thank you! Can’t wait to make these!
Hi Wendy! You can do a mix – just keep the total amount to 2 and 1/2 cups, any ratio is fine. The bake time will be shorter for smaller cookies, just keep an eye on them in the oven and look for soft centers with light browning on the edges.
My family loved this recipe. I usually make the cho c chip version, but I love the flavour of the peanut butter in these .
I love the flavor of these cookies but mine came out very hard. I did use quick oats instead of old fashioned. Could that be the reason? Mine were a little smaller than 2 tablespoons . I baked at 350 for 12 minutes.
Hello! Quick oats will change the texture. Did they seem over-baked? And how did you measure the flour and oats? Make sure to spoon and level (instead of scooping) to avoid packing in too much flour into your measuring cups – or use a kitchen scale. You can read more about properly measuring baking ingredients in this post.
I love these cookies but next time I will count back on the peanut butter
These cookies are so delicious, the flavors and texture from the oats work super well together. They’re me and my mom’s favorite cookie recipe. Before I left for college I made a batch and scooped them and froze them for my Mom so she can pop one out of the freezer if she ever needs a fresh baked cookie while I’m away (they are the perfect cookie for freezing).
I skipped the baking powder and reduced the chocolate chips to one cup (I was using minis) and they turned out absolutely perfect! I did do one batch on foil and accidentally made them too large, and slightly too crowded, which I do not recommend. Those ones turned out a little soft and crumbly from excess moisture absorption. Use parchment if you have it and space well for the perfect shape and crispy edges. Also recommend using salt still if you use salted butter but reduce it. When I make these again I will definitely be adding the salt. Also a little cinnamon wouldn’t hurt as these are definitely on the sweeter side!
I was having a craving for this exact cookie. Did an internet search on Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookie. This is now my FAVORITE cookie. I have made it twice now. Soooo good!!
Absolutely delicious! A great cookie for hiking or mid day snack!
@Sally’s Baking Addiction. You mentioned in the instructions that when the times comes to take these out of the oven. That the centers will appear soft or under cooked. Will the cookies set more while cooling off? TIA
Hi LuAnn, correct, the cookies will set as they cool. Hope you enjoy them!
One of my favorite cookies of all time! Perfect as is. Definitely in my regular rotation of cookies. Yum!!!
I accidentally bought white chocolate chips instead of milk chocolate chips. Will this have a major effect? Should I make any changes? Thanks!
Hi Abi, no changes needed! Some readers have made the same swap and liked the cookies better with white chocolate chips. Enjoy!
Can I use salted butter instead of unsalted butter
Hi Theresa, if using salted butter, reduce the added salt to 1/2 teaspoon.
These cookies were delicious and stayed quite fresh even after almost a week! I just kept them on the counter covered 🙂 I used chunky peanut butter instead of creamy and only had about 1/2 cup of white sugar. I subbed the rest with brown sugar and they turned out wonderful! Good to know the dough can stay in the fridge for four days when I make this in the future, thanks for such a detailed recipe!
This recipe was absolutely delicious. My fiancé loved these cookies.
can I use oat flour instead of all purpose flour?
Hi Mindy, oat flour will yield a dry cookie, we don’t recommend it here.
My favorite cookie! I always get rave reviews when I make them so this recipe is on repeat in my kitchen. I’ve learned when I’m looking for a recipe, Sally’s are always my go to for the best results!
Great recipe ! Can you tell me what the nutritional values are. My daughter is diabetic so I’m trying to get to the closest carb count as possible
Hi Vanessa, We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
Great cookie! I added walnuts cause I love chocolate and walnuts together!
Really great recipe! Made just as directed the first time and they came out perfect. Nice and thick but tender, and so rich and satisfying! The 2nd time I made them I added peanut butter m&m minis on top before baking!
Thank you for having this recipe. Back in the summer of 2000, I was out to lunch with Hubby’s mom and sister when I started craving Oatmeal peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, later that night after we both got home his sister called me over. She made the cookies, and I was in love with all 3 mixed together, the family thought I was weird and pregnant but it was just a funny craving I had that day. She made it a few times over the years, but we no longer talk, and we live 1800 miles away, so finding your recipe is a blessing to try to make myself. Thank you.
My daughter made these last weekend and just raved about them. We live across the country from each other.So I decided to make them myself today. Absolute perfection! Wondering if I can freeze the cookies?
Hi Lisa, so glad you enjoyed them! Yes, you can freeze the baked cookies for up to 3 months.
These freeze so well my family thinks they taste just as good after baking cooling freezing then thawing. I’ve frozen mine for up to six months with no loss in quality. Cool at least two hours on wire rack before freezing.
I left out about1/8th c of sugar and 1/2 cup of chips. Absolutely delicious recipe.
Omg! I can’t stop eating these cookies! They turned out so good. So soft and plump!
I made them with margarine and natural peanut butter. They came out perfect! Next time i’ll try without chocolate chips. I think this recipe would make the perfect peanut butter cookie 🙂